I have been trying to get rid of unnecessary things and live a minimal life for over a year. I have to say it is not easy. I find myself giving up then guilting myself into starting again just to find that I have given up again. Downsizing is a bitch when you have 2 toddlers and a small living space. I never seem to have enough storage space, even after I get rid of bins and bins of things.
“I feel a little like Alice in Alice in Wonderland, going down a rabbit hole of madness trying to find space!”
I soon found myself using excuse after excuse to keep me from “Project Minimalism”. I grew to hate the process. After a few months of this back and forth I finally realized I was going about this project the wrong way and I needed a break! So that’s exactly what I did! For the past 6 months I have enjoyed the holidays with my family and friends, worked on getting my real estate license, done a shit ton of yoga, got a new job, went on 3 family trips and I did pretty much anything else other than getting rid of things.
Since 2018 is now upon us I feel it is as good a time as any to start anew! This time around I’m giving myself new ground rules in addition to my minimalism rules:
- I’m not allowed to beat myself up over anything I feel I did wrong in this process. (AKA: Get rid of your mom’s voice in your head!)
- This process is meant to be happy and cleansing
- As soon as it no longer feels “happy and cleansing” I need to take a break
- Involve family as much as possible so I don’t feel alone doing this (ex: let kids pick out toys to donate to other kids who may need them.)
- Remind myself of why I am doing this by reviewing my Pinterest boards, reading my favorite minimalism books, and checking out the latest minimalism blogs.
“Moral of this story is, when trying to declutter/live minimally don’t be such a jerk to yourself during the process! this is hard work but the pay off will be huge so keep going and cheer up!”
Christmas just happened and my kids got a shit ton of toys! I think it is a perfect time to start there and I definitely am going to involve them. I have already told them in terms they can somewhat understand that there are families that don’t have as much as we do and that the kids sometimes don’t have toys and don’t get presents at Christmas. Now when they pick out toys to give away hopefully they can feel good about giving them to children who would love them. I’ll will update on how it went and let you know what went well and what I probably should have done different.
Now it’s your turn to join me! It would be awesome if 2018 was filled with women empowered to take control of their surroundings and get rid of what isn’t needed and live a simple happy life without clutter holding them down! I’d love to hear about what your declutter plans are for 2018. Any tips and/or tricks? Go ahead and comment below or send me a private message. I’d love to hear from you!
Good luck and don’t be so hard on yourself!
-Namaste Bitches!
